“……”

“Had a rough day today, didn’t you?”

Yeah. It was a really rough day. Even more so because of you.

Swallowing her inner thoughts, Sheila responded businesslike.

“No, young master.”

But Allen wouldn’t back off.

“Come on, I know everything. Why pretend?”

If you know, how about backing off?

Lately, Sheila found her sentiments aligning more and more with those of her lady, Judith. This never used to happen before…

“Wash up and come to my room. I’ll comfort you.”

Having inadvertently witnessed Allen’s methods of comfort in Judith’s room earlier that day, Sheila took a step back and politely declined.

“I’m fine, young—”

“Quit dodging.”

She tried to get the words out. But Allen interrupted and grabbed her wrist.

This little punk…!

Allen may now be a head taller than Sheila, but to her, he still looked exactly like the 14-year-old boy she first met.

“Let go of me, young master.”

“Why? Are you into the eldest brother instead?”

What kind of nonsense is that?

“It’s not that—”

“Then are you into the second brother?”

No, you idiot.

Just as Sheila was screaming inside, a calm voice echoed through the corridor.

“Let go of her.”

At the sound of the second brother’s voice, Allen’s grip on Sheila’s wrist loosened.

“What do you think you’re doing, grabbing your little sister’s maid in the middle of the night?”

At Alfonso’s blunt question, Allen responded shamelessly, “You know what happened today. It’s obvious Judith was harsh, so I was just trying to comfort her.”

“This maid doesn’t seem to need your comfort.”

Sheila looked up at Alfonso with eyes full of fierce agreement.

“Don’t put the maid in an awkward position. You think I don’t know you’ve been dragging maids into your bedroom every night?”

“That just means a lot of maids need my comfort.”

Another trait of this household: unlike the bright eldest and second children born just a year apart, Allen and Judith had… pure, innocent brains.

“Nonsense.”

Alfonso voiced what Sheila didn’t dare say.

“It’s not nonsense. I’m simply practicing universal love.”

Allen insisted, his so-called pure-hearted charm on full display.

“Get back to your room quietly before I send you to the monastery tomorrow.”

Yes! Sheila wholeheartedly agreed with Alfonso’s firm warning. Clearly, the monastery was the perfect place to practice universal love.

“Who are you to say that?!”

Allen raised his voice at Alfonso for the first time. He meant—what right did Alfonso, who wasn’t even the heir, have to say such things?

Sheila, sensing that Allen had casually stepped on a sensitive subject, just wanted to leave.

“You think I can’t say that to Father?”

Alfonso, rather than getting angry, stared sharply at Allen over his glasses.

“Tch, fine. Whatever.”

In the end, Allen backed down.

Though both were out of the succession race, Alfonso, the reliable second son who had earned Count Bernard’s trust, stood in a different position from the childish third son, Allen.

As Allen turned to head back to his room, Alfonso looked at Sheila and asked, “Does Allen do that often?”

“N-No. This was the first time…”

As Sheila answered, Alfonso seemed genuinely relieved.

“Good.”

He muttered it like a passing thought, then, catching himself, gave Sheila a warm smile.

“If anything like this happens again, tell me. Not just Allen, even if it’s some other servant bothering you. The Calley family will not tolerate such behavior.”

At Alfonso’s words, Sheila felt a warmth in her heart.

Among the Calley household, Alfonso was likely the only one who genuinely cared about the servants’ well-being.

“Yes, young master.”

“Now go get some rest, Sheila.”

Hearing her name spoken so kindly, Sheila smiled and bowed.

Alfonso might be the only member of the Calley family who actually remembered the servants’ names.

Grateful there was at least one decent person among her masters, Sheila dragged her tired body back to her room.

***

The day before the count and countess broke the news to Judith, Marisa had been urgently summoned to Bernard’s study, where he handed her a letter. On the envelope was the seal of the Baron Soreth family.

“What… what is this…?!”

Upon reading the letter, Marisa quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

The letter, beginning with “Dear Count Calley,” declared the cancellation of the engagement that had been in progress. The reasons for rejection were painfully detailed.

‘We are deeply concerned that the delicate Miss Judith might fall ill from local diseases in the Soreth territory.’

‘Though we did not consider Lady Calley too young, upon meeting her, we found thirteen to be too early an age for such an arrangement.’

Shockingly, there was even this:

‘Marriage is ultimately a matter between the individuals. No matter how favorable the families are, if the parties themselves object, there is nothing to be done.’

In the end, it meant the young master of Soreth didn’t like her either.

Rudely enough, the Baron Soreth family had rejected the precious daughter of a venerable count’s house. Their letter ended by saying they hoped this incident wouldn’t harm the long-standing relationship between the two families and that they wished to maintain friendly ties.

“Friendly ties, my foot! What kind of humiliation is this?!”

“It’s alright. There are plenty of better families out there.”

Compared to the livid Marisa, Bernard, who spoke more calmly, was equally upset.

“What’s wrong with our Judith, anyway?”

“Well, it was a bit much for her to leave the table before the guests did.”

That was the only reason he could come up with after racking his brain.

“I mean, she’s still young and can’t sit still for long. Can’t they understand that?”

That day, Judith had constantly called the maids serving in the dining room, disrupting the flow of conversation. Finally, unable to bear it, Baron Soreth tried to converse with Judith directly.

“Miss Judith, is there anything you’ve been studying lately?”

“I’m learning history and geography…”

Though it was called a conversation, it was more like a quiz testing Judith’s general knowledge.

“That’s good to hear. While House Soreth and House Calley have never been joined by marriage, we’ve maintained friendly relations for decades. I trust you know what event sparked that relationship?”

“Uh, um…”

Judith couldn’t answer and stuck out her tongue in a cutesy gesture to dodge the question.

“Judith is well aware of the Battle of Lubas.”

Bernard stepped in to answer on her behalf. The Battle of Lubas had been fought by the late Marquis Ditus, whom the baron had served, and the former Count Calley.

“I’d prefer to hear it from Miss Judith herself, not the count.”

Baron Soreth openly stated this, but the rest of the conversation continued in a similar fashion.

The decisive moment came just as Bernard had mentioned. Near the end of the meal, the head chef brought out canapés topped with tomatoes imported from the Soreth estate as dessert.

As the maids who knew Judith disliked tomatoes began to tense up, Judith suddenly rose from her seat.

“I’ll skip dessert. I’m full.”

Everyone knew tomatoes were a specialty of the Soreth barony. Pretending to enjoy them, at least, would have been courteous—especially for Judith, who was a prospective bride for their heir.

But Judith, who didn’t even care what specialties came from her own Calley estate, couldn’t possibly know that.

“Judith, our guests are still here. Couldn’t you at least remain seated?”

Bernard finally spoke gently. In response, Judith gave her father a look pleading for rescue, as if asking if he hadn’t seen how Baron Soreth had been bombarding her with uncomfortable questions.

“If I sit any longer, I think I’ll throw up.”

Baron Soreth and his family looked utterly appalled.

But the Count and Countess of Calley showed only concern for their daughter. They knew Judith’s temperament—if she couldn’t have her way, she’d throw a tantrum and might truly vomit.

“There, there. Go ahead and rest in your room.”

Judith lifted her skirt slightly, gave a little kick, and turned on her heel.

“We apologize. Our daughter is rather delicate…”

“Hohoho. Not that she’s ill or anything. She’s just a bit frail from being raised so gently.”

“Indeed, that’s the charm of a proper lady. Better than being too brawny, I say. Hahaha.”

Behind Judith’s retreating figure, the Count and Countess of Calley desperately tried to defend their daughter. No reply came from the Soreth family.

Just before leaving the dining room, Judith turned to Head Chef Roland and ordered, “Roland. Bring strawberry cake to my room. I’m craving strawberry cake today.”

Roland, remembering how she’d just claimed to be full, broke out in a cold sweat.

“Don’t worry. We’ll marry her into a family that loves Judith as much as we do,” Bernard said, trying to suppress his frustration.

No matter what anyone said, to the Count and Countess of Calley, Judith was the apple of their eye.

The count and countess had their first two sons, Cedric and Alfonso, in quick succession after their marriage. As a young couple, they saw back-to-back childbirths as natural. With two sons, they had no concerns about succession.

For several years afterward, there was no pregnancy. When the third child came four years later and turned out to be another boy, the couple couldn’t hide their disappointment. They had firmly believed it would be a sweet little girl this time.

Still, they had no plans to try for a fourth child just to have a daughter. By then, each had become more interested in enjoying time with their respective lovers.

It wasn’t until five years later that another pregnancy occurred. A surprise late baby, ten years younger than Cedric, the long-awaited daughter.

Judith was stunningly beautiful. Even the natural airheadedness she showed from an early age looked perfect in their eyes.

They had never imagined their darling daughter would be rejected during marriage talks.

Pacing the room nervously, Bernard finally spoke with worry in his voice, “More importantly, this is serious. What happens if Cedric hears about this?”